Budgeting Tips for Newly Married Couples

“For richer or for poorer…” This is one of the vows couples take when they get married. Money matters are no joke, and some marriages fail due to money troubles.

After the wedding and the honeymoon, newlyweds start settling into the new routines of married life. Budgeting and managing their finances is one of the first things that couples need to decide on for establishing healthy money management habits.

Here are 7 budgeting tips for newly married couples.

1. Sit down and talk about your finances

List down all your sources of income and be transparent about each other’s financial status. This includes all withstanding bank accounts, revenue from the past and current investments, and income from work and business ventures.

Make sure that each of you understands where the other stands in terms of income, debt, and savings. By being transparent with your finances and spending, you can simplify budgeting and build trust in your marriage.

2. Discuss your short-term and long-term goals

After you have a clear understanding of your baseline finances, determine your goals as a married couple.

For instance, do you plan to purchase a car or a home soon? How much savings would you like to have in your account in a year? Setting goals will help you determine your monthly spending budget.

3. Settle your debts and stay out of debt

It’s never good to start your married life with mountains of debt to settle. If you have outstanding student loans, for instance, try to settle them as soon as you can so that you can both start fresh.

4. Design a budget plan

You’ve discussed your total monthly income as a couple. Work as a team to design a budget plan for bills, utilities, debt payments, savings, and the like.

Depending on your financial status and income, determine how much you can allocate for leisure, entertainment, and travel.

5. Build an emergency fund

Set aside a portion of your income for emergencies and unprecedented expenses such as a family illness, unemployment, natural disaster, car/ home repairs, and other unexpected circumstances.

You’ll never regret having an emergency fund set aside as early as possible. Having an emergency fund can give you both some breathing room in knowing that should anything come up, there will always be a roof over your heads and food on the table.

6. Start saving for your retirement

Some young couples don’t think too far ahead. But, you don’t need to wait until you’re much older to start preparing for retirement. Talk about how you want to spend your later years, and start saving up for it so that you can enjoy your years as a retired couple.

7. Trust each other

Marriage is all about having trust and faith in each other. Now that you’re married, you need to work as a team in creating healthy financial habits.

By trusting that your spouse is transparent with money matters, you can build a healthy marriage. Both of you need to put full effort in the financial matters of your marriage.

Ultimately, married couples need to trust each other to form an effective team. By having transparency in terms of finances, you can set shared goals and work towards them together.

After all, you vowed to love your spouse for richer or for poorer. So, you need to support each other all the time. Marriage takes hard work and sacrifice. By adopting healthy budgeting and spending habits, you can get your money matters in order early on, and prevent financial problems in the future.

Carol SorianoCarol Soriano is a writer at heart and a social media enthusiast, she findspersonal finance, investment and money matters interesting topics.